Balloon Juice - Artists In Our Midst Archives

Sunday Morning Open Thread: It’s A Gift

by Anne Laurie| December 16, 20184:39 am| 155 Comments

This post is in: Artists In Our Midst, Books, Cat Blogging, Open Threads

Currently making these Christmas ornaments: pic.twitter.com/orhjwS07qG

— K. Cunningham (@bluntforcellama) December 13, 2018

Okay, it’s a box. But all boxes belong to cats, by divine right.

Betty had a wonderful thread earlier this week asking for gift ideas and highlighting the artists among us, but Sunday morning tends to be a quiet time for those of us who’re still contemplating our options.

There are a bunch of Balloon Juice jackals who have books to sell, among them Dorothy A. Winsor, who taught me something I didn’t know:

…If you read something and enjoy it, you give the author a big gift by reviewing the book on Amazon and/or Goodreads. The review can be very short (I enjoyed this book). It doesn’t have to 5 star. The issue is that Amazon uses the sheer number of reviews as part of its algorithm for which books to promote. Also some sites ( Book Bub, frex) require that a book have a certain number of reviews before you can promote on there.

So… Who’s got works to promote (yours or others?)

What other great gift ideas should we know about? (Out-of-the-ordinary good causes to support, for instance… )

Sunday Morning Open Thread: It’s A GiftPost + Comments (155)

Gift Ideas and Jackal Maker Showcase Open Thread

by Betty Cracker| December 14, 20184:33 pm| 113 Comments

This post is in: Artists In Our Midst, Birdwatching, Open Threads

First, check out this fabulous Red-Shouldered Hawk who visited earlier this week and was kind enough to hang around for a photo-op:

I think it’s a juvenile. It was engaging in obnoxious youngling behavior like flying at similarly-sized wading birds and generally disrupting its fellow fauna. Plus, I think I spotted a helicopter-parenting adult nearby.

Anyhoo, holiday gifts: Since I put out a call for gift ideas the other day (and thank you for the many great suggestions), I’ve had a couple of requests to put up a thread where people can discuss gift ideas and where jackals who create nifty things can HAWK their wares. (Get it? No need to jostle; I’ll show myself out, thank you.)

So, have at it. Also, open thread!

Gift Ideas and Jackal Maker Showcase Open ThreadPost + Comments (113)

Artists In Our Midst

by Sarah, Proud and Tall| November 12, 20164:30 pm| 137 Comments

This post is in: Artists In Our Midst

Big Bunny Linocut by linocutboy on Etsy

As promised, herewith your Artists In Our Midst thread.

If you are any kind of creator – artist, writer, blogger, photographer, musician, inventor, designer, sex toy entrepreneur, gardener, whatever – professional or otherwise, and you want to give yourself or your stuff a plug, please do so.

If you’re not and you know someone who is, get in a plug for them, or ask one of our talented creators to make you something you never thought you wanted, but which would bring a bit of joy into your life.

Don’t forget our Balloon Jobs thread. There are all sorts of clever people who might be perfect for your business, and all sorts of job opportunities and suggestions on offer.

My plug is for the Etsy shop of linocutboy, whose work is just lovely, and includes the magnificent big bunny above.

Artists In Our MidstPost + Comments (137)

Writing Productivity Class and Meet Ups (NY & NJ) Comin’ Atcha!

by Hillary Rettig| October 18, 201611:38 am| 27 Comments

This post is in: Artists In Our Midst, Authors In Our Midst

Hey Everyone – I’m going to bigfoot myself to announce that I’m teaching an online writing-productivity class starting 10/31. It’s great for any writer (creative, academic, business, etc.) trying to boost his or her output, overcome procrastination and perfectionism, and/or finish a project. (Actually for anyone with those goals, in any crazed-turquoise-bowl-6a field, but the examples and discussions will all be writing-focused.) The classes are four weeks long, and the format is bloggish, so you can be located anywhere. Normally $50, but the host, SavvyAuthors, is offering a discount of $5 just for Juicers—so $45. Click here to register. (Note: the class dates are wrong on that link but rest assured you will be registering for my class.)

More info below the fold. Another perk, btw, is that we typically get many romance writers in the class, and they are interesting people who tend to occupy the sweet spot at the intersection of “kind and supportive” and “publication focused.” (Oh, and in case you’re interested, here’s a piece I did a few years back on romance fiction and social justice.)

In other news, JT and I are hitting the road again and I’d love to meet up with any Juicers in either New York City (Nov 21 – 23) or Montclair, NJ (Nov 25-26). (Pre- and post-Thanksgiving.) Please email me at [email protected]. (Also email me if questions about the class.)

Illustration: gorgeous Kintsugi pottery by Lakeside Pottery Studio in Rehoboth Beach, DE. Per Wikipedia: “Kintsugi (“golden joinery”), also known as Kintsukuroi (“golden repair”), is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum… As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.” Hillary’s note: in other words, Kinsugi exemplifies the virtues of nonperfectionism, one of the main topics we’ll discuss in class. (Image reproduced with kind permission of Morty Bachar and Patty Storms.)

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Online Class – October 31 – November 27, 2016 (four weeks)

What: The 7 Secrets of the Prolific writing productivity class

For Whom:

For all writers, including creative, academic, business, and nonprofit writers.
For writers around the world, in every time zone. (See Format section, below.)
For writers wishing to boost their writing pace, overcome obstacles to productivity, and bring a “stuck” work to completion. And, finally,
For writers who wish to write joyfully and enthusiastically.

Content: We will cover these topics:

Nature and causes of, and solutions to, procrastination (week 1)
Nature and causes of, and solutions to, perfectionism (week 2)
A method for rapid and joyful writing; also, techniques for finishing your work (as opposed to getting stuck in the middle) (week 3)
How to overcome toxic rejections/criticisms (week 3)
Time management: methods for “creating” time for your writing; also, how to recognize and stop overgiving (week 4)

Benefits:

An immediate increase in your writing speed and an immediate decrease in your writing-related pressure and stress.
A new method for writing that offers maximum speed, ease, and effectiveness.
The abilities to: (1) quickly recognize and overcome barriers to productivity and success, (2) avoid and recover from traumatic rejections, and (3) create more time for your writing.
Gains that will continue (and build) throughout your writing career. And,
Mastery of principles and habits (antiprocrastination, antiperfectionism, resilience, time management) whose benefits extend well beyond your writing, to many areas of life.

Where: SavvyAuthor.com. SavvyAuthors classes are cheap, convenient, and fun; and you never have to worry about parking.

Format: I post two lessons and one or two homework assignments each week, and we spend the rest of the week discussing them. Everything stays posted so there are no time constraints, and you can be located anywhere in the world.

You’ll get lots of individual attention from me, and lots of support from the other students.

Cost: $45 for Juicers (normally $50). To register. (Note – the date is wrong on the discount page, but don’t worry – you’ll still be registered for my class.)

Writing Productivity Class and Meet Ups (NY & NJ) Comin’ Atcha!Post + Comments (27)

Shameless self promotion thread

by Sarah, Proud and Tall| July 22, 20157:11 pm| 161 Comments

This post is in: Artists In Our Midst, Balloon Juice, Free Markets Solve Everything, Organizing & Resistance, Readership Capture

the_pottery_vendor-large

I can’t see that we’ve done an Artists in our Midst thread, or a job thread, for quite a while. Then again, I may just be too drunk to find them.

Anyway, lets combine the two and have a free thread for Juicers – artists, Etsyists, writers, job seekers, freelancers, businesses seeking workers, community groups seeking assistance, whatever, lurkers more than welcome – to give themselves a plug.

[Image – Francisco de Goya (1746-1828) The Pottery Vendor]

Shameless self promotion threadPost + Comments (161)

Late Night Graphic Artists Open Thread

by Anne Laurie| August 28, 20132:14 am| 59 Comments

This post is in: Artists In Our Midst, Popular Culture, Daydream Believers

First, artist and commentor Larime could use a little help:

My wife, Sylv Taylor, is bed-bound with Lupus and her laptop is the only link she has to the outside world. That laptop is also what she uses to create art, including coloring comics. It’s dying – it shut off 10 times in 3 hours today – and when it’s dead she’ll be utterly isolated and unable to create.

PLEASE consider helping in getting her a new laptop. If you can’t pledge, PLEASE share this on your journals and tell your friends. If her laptop dies and I can’t replace it, she’s going to have nothing to do and no one but me to talk to, all day, every day. This laptop is literally her life and her world.

The Indiegogo campaign is here. Thank you!

***********

Second, a documentary we can look forward to:

(Via Sharan Shetty at Slate)

In theatres November 15.

Late Night Graphic Artists Open ThreadPost + Comments (59)

Artists In Our Midst Open Thread

by John Cole| July 27, 20139:00 pm| 147 Comments

This post is in: Artists In Our Midst, Open Threads

First things first- just furminated the boss, and let me tell you what- Steve loves being furminated so much that he is actually hard to brush because he keeps head-butting the brush and doing circles instead of holding still (which was never an issue with Tunch- holding still was a lifelong goal that he marvelously achieved). But he just loves it. Furminated him, then brushed him with a regular brush, and it is amazing how quickly his coat is getting better. Even the bald areas, where I had to delicately cut out mats so he would stop being Boss Marley with dreadlocks everywhere, is growing back and feels silky and soft to the touch.

Back to the thrust of the post, it’s been forever since we have one of these, and I know how many creative people we have commenting and lurking, so let’s do one tonight. If you are an artist/crafter/musician/carpenter/whatever, and you have some wares to share with the rest of us (of if your spouse or friends or basically anything cool you want to share), throw it in the comments so we can decide if maybe you have something that would make our days a little brighter and happier.

Some of my most prized possessions are things you all have made, whether it be my GD portrait, the picture of the beautiful sunflower fields I bought, etc.

Artists In Our Midst Open ThreadPost + Comments (147)

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

“Cheese and Kraken paired together for the appetizer trial.”

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

In my day, never was longer.

You cannot shame the shameless.

A consequence of cucumbers

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

The jury literally has a bell they can ring to force Trump to show up on command. Greatest thing ever!

This blog will pay for itself.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

Democrats are back in array!

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?